EU nominee for climate chief wants global fossil fuel taxes

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The nominee for the EU’s climate chief has proposed a global tax on fossil fuels, including those used by aviation and shipping, to fund a fund to help developing countries suffering from carbon pollution.

Former Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra said during a confirmation hearing with EU lawmakers on Monday that he would recommend raising funds through a fuel tax in an attempt to open up plans for “loss and damage” International negotiations for funds.

The international agreement exempts the global transport industry from fuel taxes, although the EU emissions trading scheme covers aviation and will be extended to shipping next year.

“I would like to explore international kerosene taxes, maritime taxes, fossil fuel taxes, even a share of the (EU emissions trading scheme) proceeds – no stone is left unturned,” Hoekstra said in evidence to the European Parliament’s environment committee.

The EU plan requires companies to pay for carbon dioxide emissions, raising more than 25 billion euros in revenue annually, mainly for member state budgets. Hoekstra said revenue will grow “exponentially.”

Dutch Green lawmaker Bas Eickhout questioned Hoekstra’s “credibility” on the fuel tax, as such decisions require unanimous agreement among EU countries. “Any individual member state can prevent this,” he told the environment committee.

Dutch Greens lawmaker Bas Eickhout said after the hearing: “Hoekstra is very clear that any global tax deal will either be invalid, delayed, or both. There is.”

Hoekstra was nominated as EU climate commissioner after the previous head of the post, Frans Timmermans, left to run in November’s Dutch elections.

Hoekstra, a center-right politician who has been criticized by some MEPs for his work at Shell Oil Company, promised “continuity, ambition and outreach”.

But the replacement of the EU commissioner comes at a delicate moment for the EU as its green agenda faces resistance from industry and conservative politicians, just weeks before the United Nations COP28 climate summit. The EU has been one of the most ambitious negotiators at UN events.

International negotiations over the size and shape of the proposed loss and damage fund have been fraught with controversy since the concept was first agreed upon at last year’s UN COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Officials are working to agree on the fund’s structure ahead of the COP28 summit in December, but there are questions over whether the fund should be overseen by one of the multilateral development banks or exist as an independent entity and where the money should come from. Disagreements led to a deadlock. In talks.

Officials involved in the negotiations said developing countries believed the West should bear the burden of paying for climate change, but Western countries said the fund should not be viewed as an “ATM” that countries could use to compensate for the damage caused by carbon pollution. . .

U.S. and EU officials aim to create a targeted fund to address specific climate risks, and people familiar with the matter say there has been some progress in recent weeks.

In written evidence ahead of his confirmation hearing, Hoekstra said the decision to establish “a loss and damage financing arrangement, including a fund, is a historic milestone” but that “the fund itself is not a panacea”.

He also said funding should come from “all countries capable of providing support,” an allusion to Western countries urging China and Gulf states to contribute to the fund despite being developing countries.

While serving as Dutch finance minister during the coronavirus pandemic, Hoekstra spent months blocking the creation of EU funds to support poorer member states and apologized to the environment committee. “I showed insufficient attention to the difficulties faced by some member states,” he said.

If two-thirds of the committee support Hoekstra’s nomination, parliament will vote on Thursday.

Although her opinion is only advisory, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to accept the parliament’s view.

An activist petition opposing Hoekstra’s appointment as EU climate commissioner has attracted more than 104,000 signatures.

Hoekstra was criticized for approving a multi-billion-euro bailout of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines while failing to provide for emissions reductions when he was Dutch finance minister.